


Necessity and Invention

by ElAlmaDelMar



Series: A/B/O/tober 2020 [16]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta/Omega, M/M, Omega Sanji, Sex Toys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:02:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27056134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElAlmaDelMar/pseuds/ElAlmaDelMar
Summary: The worst part was that it wasn't anyone'sfault. Sure, they both said shit they shouldn't have said, but pretty much all the Strawhats insulted each other, and harsh words meant little.  And it wasn't as though Usopp hadchosento be a beta.A/B/O/tober Day 16: Knot toys
Relationships: Usopp/Sanji
Series: A/B/O/tober 2020 [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947415
Comments: 6
Kudos: 92
Collections: A/B/O/tober 2020





	Necessity and Invention

The worst part was that it wasn't anyone's _fault_. Sure, they both said shit they shouldn't have said, but pretty much all the Strawhats insulted each other, and harsh words meant little. And it wasn't as though Usopp had _chosen_ to be a beta, any more than Sanji had _chosen_ to have the specific needs he had. 

But in the middle of the first heat they were spending as a couple was the worst time to discover that Sanji _needed_ a knot to be able to come when he was like this. And Usopp simply did not have one. 

Sanji, half out of his head with hormones and desperate, shaking, riding the edge of _pain_ from overstimulation and unfulfilled need, snarled at Usopp that if he couldn't help, he should get out. Usopp complained that he was trying his best and Sanji had never had this problem before. Things got bad, and the sniper stormed out of Sunny's cycle room, tugging his pants on roughly and hoping he could grab a shower before he had to face any of the rest of the crew and explain why he wasn't still with Sanji. 

In the end, Sanji rode out the rest of his heat alone, snapping and shouting whenever Chopper tried to check on him, and Usopp spent the time sulking down in his workshop, avoiding the rest of the crew and marinating in self-loathing and inadequacy. This soon after he'd almost left them forever… it was hard to take.

* * *

When Sanji returned to duty, it was in silence. He left the cycle room well before dawn, dipped into the men's quarters to grab a change of clothing, and then went and took the longest, hottest shower he could stand, scrubbing himself over and over until every trace of heat-scent was obliterated. Then, skin red from the heat and scouring, he went to begin preparations for a lavish breakfast spread. He always did that after his heats — a resumption of normalcy, a quiet apology to the rest of the crew for having to put up with pre-prepared meals and easy sandwiches or similar for the last few days. The chef was back on duty and they all deserved to enjoy his return. 

But he felt subdued, a low weight in his chest, and as the sun rose over the ocean, Sanji found himself half dreading the appearance of his nakama. Surely they knew that Usopp had, in the end, not been with him through his heat, and probably had all sorts of thoughts as to why. It was hard enough to _be_ in the throes of a new, delicate relationship, especially one taking place in full view of the rest of the crew. Worse to have that relationship so quickly founder, and on such a… well, _intimate_ basis. 

He wondered what Usopp had told them about how everything went down. 

Robin was the first to make her way in, with the sun not even halfway over the horizon; he spun into action immediately, pouring coffee and preparing it how he knew she liked, just a pinch of sugar but a healthy dollop of cream. She watched him in silence, accepting the cup with a low murmur of thanks. 

It was Usopp who came in next, and Sanji paused in his work, uncertain — where did anything stand between them now? And Usopp, a constant liar but only rarely a _good_ one, was in this moment an utter failure at keeping similar thoughts off his face. The two of them were nearly circling each other, wary and hesitant, until Robin cleared her throat and Sanji leaped to give her a refill. 

Once in motion, he seemed to figure himself out, and offered Usopp a cup of coffee as well. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes," he said, all efficiency and service. "Robin-chuan, I know you prefer crepes. Usopp, would you like pancakes or crepes? I've made both." 

Usopp blinked for just a moment, opened his mouth, closed it again, then said, "Oh, pancakes! What toppings did you make…?" 

It was, in a word, utterly normal, and yet… awkward.

* * *

The awkwardness faded over time, but there was still something in Usopp's attitude that seemed oddly skittish. They talked, they made up, they made out, and inevitably, Sanji's heat came again.

* * *

"What," Sanji asked, staring in horror at Usopp's crotch, "is _that_?" 

Usopp ducked his head, embarrassment dripping off him. "Um. Well. I didn't want us to have the same problem as last time? So I… got some help." 

"From who, _Franky?_ " 

"Um, yeah, actually." 

"You fucking talked to Franky about our sex life?!" 

That was at least killing a little of the embarrassment. Usopp threw up his hands in a broad gesture of frustration. "Who else was I supposed to talk to? The only other option I could think of was Chopper!" 

Sanji paused at that, rubbing at his flushed face. Between Franky hearing about their little _difficulty_ in the bedroom last time and Chopper hearing about it… "Yeah, okay, that'd be worse." Barely, but he'd concede the point. "Still. What _is_ that?" 

"It's a knot." 

It didn't look anything like one at the moment — there was a harness wrapped around Usopp's hips, attached to an odd sort of device that looped around the base of his cock. Parts of the device looked like a simple leather band, and that was fine, but there were also glints of something decidedly metallic, and Sanji wasn't sure he wanted to trust that anywhere around his privates or his boyfriend's. "... How?" 

"It, um. It inflates." Usopp's complexion didn't show much in the way of a blush, but he sure managed to look abashed. "There's a timer on it, too, so it goes down naturally after a little while, the way a real one should. And the — um — the inflatable part, it's made with the same kind of artificial skin he uses for his face—"

"Okay, okay, I don't want to think about his face and my junk in the same context. But…" Sanji drew a breath, struggling to get his thoughts in proper order. He'd only just hit the point in his heat where he really needed to be isolated, and so he wasn't incoherent yet. Just… struggling a little, the way he would if he were really fatigued or kind of drunk. "That's. That's really sweet." Yep, there was omega instinct kicking in hard. Usopp might not be the classic big strong alpha, but there was a problem and he'd taken steps to fix it and that was the kind of thing a good mate ought to do. He leaned forward and rubbed his cheek against Usopp's bare shoulder. 

"You don't mind?" Usopp asked, startled — but his hand came up to cradle the back of Sanji's head all the same. 

"It's weird," Sanji admitted. "But… hell. Let's give it a try. See how it goes. Okay?" 

A smile was his answer. "Okay." 

"Good. Now, c'mere."

* * *

Usopp did not get kicked out of the cycle room this time. And when he and Sanji made their reappearance several days later, Usopp flashed Franky a covert thumbs-up at the first opportunity. Better living through technology, indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone's keeping track of the prompt list on the series page, you may have noticed that day 16 was originally supposed to be mating/claiming bites. I have an idea I really like for that fill, but I knew I wouldn't have time to give it due justice today, so I swapped the day 16 and 17 prompts. Still almost ran out of time on this one, oops!
> 
> Come chat with me on my [Discord server](https://discord.gg/SWVYBBn)!


End file.
